 AN ambitious scheme to replace the building on top of Snowdon - notoriously branded "Britain's highest slum" by Prince Charles - has been given a major lift. Plans to re-develop the cafe and rail terminal just below the summit were yesterday approved by the Snowdonia National Park's planning committee. The go-ahead follows five months of public consultation during which the park authority received a positive response from a sizeable number of organisations and individuals. A full meeting of the SNPA will make the final decision on February 11. But if approval is given, the authority will have to find up to £9m. Yesterday's decision means that the park authority is now "halfway to getting a modern, attractive building fit for the 21s t century", said a spokesperson. SNPA head of conservation David Archer said it meant the members were now better-placed to go to the National Assembly and Europe to ask for money to build it. The SNPA had initially been hoping to receive grants of £2.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund, but received a setback over a year ago when the fund said it was unlikely to offer more than £750,000. Before yesterday's decision, the Authority had already been promised around £2m in grants, made up of £500,000 from the Welsh Development Agency; £300,000 from the Wales Tourist Board; £155,000 from Snowdon Mountain Railway; £500,000 from Gwynedd/Objective One and £200,000 from SNPA itself - with the rest made up of smaller donations. | 
